To evaluate quantitatively the suitability of the pine forest to feral honey bees, we used a spatial database for the Sam Houston National Forest in southeast Texas and FRAGSTATS. The landscape structure in 1256ha units surrounding 6 swarms of honey bees captured in the swarm traps was examined. The metrics used to characterize the kind, number, size, shape, and configuration of elements forming the landscape, defined a heterogeneous environment for honey bees that included food and habitat resources needed for survival, growth, and reproduction. Although classified as a pine forest, management practices and human activities have dissected, perforated, and fragmented the landscape and thereby added structural complexity and floral diversity.
Species 1: Hymenoptera Apidae Apis mellifera (African honey Bee)
Species 2: Hymenoptera Apidae Apis mellifera (European honey Bee)
Keywords: landscape metrics, Pine Forests
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